2013-2014 Off Season Primer

With the World Series coming to an end last night, the 2013/2014 off-season officially begins today. Here is a quick primer of all of the off-season topics.

40-Man Rosters

Teams must reinstate players from the 60-day disabled list no later than five days after the end of the World Series, getting their rosters down to 40-men. The deadline this year is on Monday. The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have five players on the 60-day disabled list: Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Karstens, Michael McKenry, Phil Irwin, and Kyle McPherson. Karstens will be a free agent, so they don't need to clear a spot for him. As for the others, they will need to clear roster spots for any of those players they wish to retain.

Teams must also make decisions on option years no later than 11:59 PM EST on Saturday night. There's a possibility that this deadline could be moved to a weekday, as normally it just falls three days after the World Series ends. The Pirates don't have any decisions to make with optio...

Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim lives in Bradenton, where he provides live coverage all year of Spring Training, mini camp, instructs, the Bradenton Marauders, and the GCL Pirates.